Musical element



y 7, 1931- H. E. WINTERHOFF 1,813,832

MUSICAL ELEMENT Filed Dec. 4, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l I N VEN TOR.

Her/mall Wm tar/2% BY MMQA A TTORNEYS July 7, 1931. 5 WNTERHOFF1,813,832

MUSICAL ELEMENT Filed Dec. 4, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ml/IIIIIIIIII/I/IIII/l!(III/A HYVENTOR. fierman E. WmZer/w/fi.

BY wu a A TTORNE Y5 Patented July 7, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEHERMAN E. WINTERHOFF, 0F INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO LEEDY MANU-FACTURING COMPANY, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, A CORPORATION OF INDIANAMUSICAL ELEMENT Application filed December 4, 1929. Serial No. 411,535.

The object of my invention is to produce a new musical instrument, orimplement, of the percussion type and of such character that a musicalsound of pleasing character and desired pitch and volume may beproduced, the new implement or instrument comprising much less materialthan has heretofore been required to produce an element capable ofproducing a somewhat similar sound of the same pitch and volume. V Amusical instrument, of any desired range, may be produced by placing indesired proximity a proper number of my new elements which have beenproperly pitched.

My new element is composed of a tubular section of resonant material towhich is rigidly secured a laterally extending vibratory reed or bar ofresonant material the reed or bar being so proportioned as to length andthickness (thereby determining its pitch responsive to percussion) thatwhen firmly secured to the tube, the unit will, when struck, emit asound the pitch of which is such that the air column defined by the tubewill be set into resonant vibration, the percussion pitch of the unitbeing preferably the same as the resonating pitch of the tube.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention in various aspects.

Fig. 1 is a section of one form of my inven tion medially of both barand tube, the end of the tube most remote from the bar being open; Fig.2 a similar section of another form in which the bar end of the tube isopen and the far end closed; Fig. 3 a similar view of another form whereboth ends of the tube are open; Fig. 4: a similar view of another formin which two tubes are attached to opposite faces of the bar; Fig. 5 asimilar View of another form in which an open-ended tube is projectedthrough the bar; Fig. 6 a similar View of another form in which the tubeis attached to one face of a bar of twice the vibrating length of thebar shown in the other figures; Fig. 7 a medial section of amodification capable of producing a fuzzy, azzy tone, and Fig. 8 aperspective of a group of my new elements.

In the drawings 10 indicates a tube of resonant material the length ofwhich will provide an air column of such length that, when set intovibration, a tone of the desired pitch will be produced. Such tubes haveheretofore been commonly used as resonators and the method ofdetermining the requisite length for a resonator tone of desired pitchis well known. For convenience I shall at times refer to the tone pitchof the air column of the tube as the resonator pitch of the tube. Thistube must be of such material as to be capable of producing a clear toneunder percussion and preferably may be of brass or hell metal such as iscommonly used in tubular chimes although other resonant material, suchas hard wood, say cocobolo, will in some combinations, give pleasing andsatisfactory results.

Rigidly secured to tube 10 is a vibratory reed or bar 11 of resonantmaterial capable of producing a clear tone under percussion. If the tube10 is metal the bar 11 should preferably be metal and, like tube 10, themetal should be such as to emit a musical tone of reasonably resonantqualities. For instance, a soft metal like lead, would not be useful foreither tube or bar. The attachment of bar 11 to tube 10 must be of suchcharacter that the two bodies will vibrate as a unit under percussion.

As is well known, the resonator pitch of a tube is dependent upon itslength, and a tube closed at one end has a resonator value equal to thatof a tube of twice the length but open at both ends.

It is, of course, well known that the pitch of the fundamental toneresponse of a percussed relatively short tube, of a given diameter andwall thickness is independent of the length of the tube because thistone pitch is due to diametrical oblations of the tube wall.

The fundamental characteristic of my new musical element is that thetube and bar, un-

der percussion vibrate as a whole to produce a tone the pitch of whichis such as to develop the resonator tone of the tube.

While I am not able at this time to announce any mathematical formula bywhich the length, thickness and Width of bar required for propercoordination with the resonator and percussion values of the tube, Ishall state a few comparative dimensions which will indicate the generalprinciples which underlie production of my devices. The bar ispreferably secured to the tube as shownin Fig. 1 where the major portionof the length of the bar is substantiaily to one side of the axis of thetube and the bar forms a closure for one end of the tube. The tube may,if desired, be secured at one end of the bar with no projection but aslight projection, as indicated in Fig. 1, is convenient to permitsupporting the element with .the bar horizontal and the tube depending.

Using thin wall tubes, the lengths of which were proper to giveresonator pitches of A, B, C and D above middle C, bars thick and havingwidths closely approximating the selected tube diameters, gave,- underpercussion, the tones C, Cit. D and D+ respectively, in the octave abovemiddle C, as indicated below:

Again, with thin wall tubes, as above, and

bars thick giving the same ultimate resonated percussion tones, the barsalone, under percussion, were pitched in the octave above middle C,respectively Ait C-,C+ and Cif, as follows:

With tubes having walls about double the thickness of the tubesmentioned above, and with 4; bars the bars alone, under'precussion, werepitched in the octave above middle C respectively Air, B- C and Cit, asfollows upon a pair of parallel felt strips 15,Yor

stnngscspaced apart slightly more than the tube diameter, 'with'the tubedepending between them. The lateral spacing need not be very accurateexcept that one support should .not be too near to the'free end of thethe bar. The tubes may, if desired extend upwardly. The element may bealso suspended by acord, bythreading through a hole, or otherwise, frommost any point in the length of either tube or bar, except quite close:to the free end of the bar, so long as;

the unit as a whole is free to vibrate under percussion.

Satisfactory tone quality may be produced by applying percussion at anypoint in the lengthof the tube or bar, thoughthe best re sults appear tobe obtained by striking the bar either in line with the tube or close toits free end. There appears-to be a node in the bar about midway betweenits free end and the tube axis and if the bar is struck at or near thisnode the resonance is dampened In the form shown in Fig. 2 the open endof the tube '10 issecured in a perforation in the bar 11, theot-her endof the tube being closed by a cap 12. In Fig. 3 the tube 10, being openat both ends with one end secured in a perforation in the bar, as inFig. 2,

must be twice as long as the tubes in the,

forms shown in Figs. '1 and;2, thedesired resonated percussion pitchbeing the same.

In Fig. 4, two tubes '10 with their adjacent ends closed by theintervening'bar 1-1,'are shown, and-inFig. 5 a continuous tube, openatboth ends, is passed through a perforation in bar 11. Of these lasttwo forms, the one shown in Fig. 4 appearsto be thebetter but neither.is better than the forms shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and, as more materialis used, they appear to be less desirable commercially.

In the form shown in Fig. 6 tube 10 is applied to the middle of a bar 11of twice the vibrating length of the bar 11 in the other figures. Thereare some difiiculties in tuning this structure and, as it too requiresconsiderably more material than the forms shown in Figs. 1 and 2, itappears to be less desirable commercially.

Jazzy, or fuzzy eflects, may be obtained by closing one end of the tubewith a loosely retained diaphragm 14, as indicated in Fig. 7, the otherend being left open.

No effort has been made, in the drawings, to show accurate relativeproportions of bars and tube, except only to indicate the fact that if atube open at both ends is used such tube must be twice the length of atube which is closed at one end.

The most sonorous results seem to be attained with relatively thin gaugetubing and thin bars, the thickness of the bars being sufilcient toprovide reasonable length.

I claim as my invention:

1. A musical. instrument of the percussion type composed of a tube and abar each of resonant material and rigidly directly connected so as tovibrate as a unit under percussion, said bar being so proportioned as toits percussion pitch, relative to the resonator pitch and percussionpitch of the tube, that the percussion pitch of the unit will be thesame as the resonator pit-ch of the tube.

2. A musical instrument of the percussion type composed of a tube ofresonant metal and a bar of resonant metal rigidly directly connected soas to vibrate as a unit under percussion, said bar being so proportionedas to its percussion pitch, relative to the resonator pitch andpercussion pitch of the tube, that the percussion pitch of the unit willbe the same as the resonator pitch of the tube.

3. A musical instrun'ient of the percussion type composed of a tube anda bar each of resonant material and rigidly directly con. nected so asto vibrate as a unit under percussion, said bar being so proportioned asto its percussion pitch, relative to the resonator pitch and percussionpitch of the tube, that the percussion pitch of the unit is such thatthe air column within the tube will be set into resonating vibration bypercussion on the tube or bar.

4. A musical instrument of the percussion type composed of a tube ofresonant metal and a bar of resonant metal ri idly directly connected soas to vibrate as a unit under percussion, said bar being so proportionedas to its percussion pitch, relative to the reson ator pitch andpercussion pitch of the tube, that the percussion pitch of the unit issuch that the air column within the tube will be set into resonatingvibration by percussion on the tube or bar.

5. A musical instrument of the percussion type composed of a tube and abar each of a resonant metal rigidly secured directly together byapplication of the bar as a closure for one end of the tube, so that thetube and bar will vibrate under percussion as a unit, said bar being soproportioned as to its percussion pitch, relative to the resonator pitchand percussion pitch of the tube, that the percussion pitch of the unitis such that the percussion pitch of the unit will be the same as theresonator pitch of the tube.

6. A musical instrument of the percussion type composed of a tube and abar each of a resonant material rigidly secured directly together byapplication of the bar as a closure for one end of the tube, so that thetube and bar will vibrate under percussion as a unit, said bar being soproportioned as to its percussion pitch, relative to the resonator pitchand percussion pitch of the tube, that the percussion pitch of the unitis such that the percussion pitch of the unit will be the same as theresonator pitch of the tube.

7. A musical instrument of the percussion type composed of a tube and abar each of a resonant metal ri idly secured directly to gether byapplication of the bar as a closure for one end of the tube, so that thetube and bar will vibrate under percussion as a unit, said bar being soproportioned as to its percussion pitch, relative to the resonator pitchand percussion pitch of the tube, that the percussion pitch of the unitis such that the air column within the tube will be set into resonatingvibration by percussion of the tube or bar.

8. A musical instrument of the percussion type composed of a tube and abar each of a resonant material rigidly secured directly together bapplication of the bar as a closure for one end of the tube, so that thetube and bar will vibrate under percussion as a unit, said bar being soproportioned as to its percussion pitch, relative to the resonator pitchand percussion pitch of the tube, that the percussion pitch of the unitis such that the air column within the tube will be set into resonatingvibration by percussion of the tube or bar.

9. A musical instrument of the character specified in claim 1 whereinone end of the tube is closed by a loosely retained diaphragm.

10. A musical instrument of the character specified in claim 2 whereinone end of the tube is closed by a loosely retained diaphragm.

11. A musical instrument of the character specified in claim 3 whereinone end of the specified in claim 4 wherein one end of the tube isclosed by a loosely retained diaphragm.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Indianapolis;Indiana, this 29th dayof November, A. D. one thousand nine hundred andtwenty-nine.

HERMAN E. WINTERHOFF.

